India interested in Japan’s bullet train technology

[cteno4]

interesting. it would be hard to run shinkansens safely in the current state of indian rr. economic and political issues are probably even tougher to deal with.

 

http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2014/07/03/business/economy-business/india-interested-in-japans-bullet-train-tech/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=india-interested-in-japans-bullet-train-tech

 

jeff

[ToniBabelony]

I can't begin to imagine how a high-speed train would manage in India.

 

There are already some relative fast trains out there (Group A @ 160km/h (e.g. Shatabdi) and Group B @ 130km/h (e.g. Radjhani)), but those run on conventional broad gauge with grade crossings. This means the general public (and cows) have access to the tracks, which they WILL use, even if forbidden. I can't imagine the disasters waiting to happen when going over this speed limit of the Shatabdi class trains. The Shinkansen will have to be built on completely inaccessible tracks (obviously), like in Japan, including the heavy maintenance.

 

Anyway, one has to wonder if this is viable, since most super fast trains in India run on a daily frequency, instead of hourly or denser frequency basis. Would the investment in a complete new network be viable with these numbers? Would the revenue be high enough to support the investment? Remember that a large percentage of the population lives under the poverty line as well. It's fairly typical for the Indian government or Indian Railways to announce and express interest in new projects, but usually nothing ever comes of this. They already have a hard enough time to keep the massive system running as it is.

[miyakoji]

I think the astronomical bottom line price includes fully grade-separated viaduct construction.  The JRs/manufacturers/exporters want to sell it as a complete system, don't they?

[Nick_Burman]

Maybe this agreement refers to the separate items which make part of the Shinkansen technological package, and not the Shinkansen system per se. India might not be ready for a high-speed line, but items like the cab-signal system (do you believe that the Indians run at 160km/h only on visual signals???) and the quake-sensing signalling system (which could be modified to detect monsoon-induced earth movements) could just come in handy for IR.

 

Cheers NB

Edited July 4, 2014 by Nick_Burman

[ToniBabelony]

do you believe that the Indians run at 160km/h only on visual signals???

 

AFAIK, after some research, I haven't found any significant cab signalling system in high-speed locomotives. From what I know about IR, the locomotives are manned with at least a two-head crew. A three head wouldn't seem to be unrealistic in +110km/h scenarios. The Indian railway network is VERY traditional and not focused on electronic automatisation (even digital, if at all)... If there would be actual cab signals, I would be more surprised actually.

[Nick_Burman]

AFAIK, after some research, I haven't found any significant cab signalling system in high-speed locomotives. From what I know about IR, the locomotives are manned with at least a two-head crew. A three head wouldn't seem to be unrealistic in +110km/h scenarios. The Indian railway network is VERY traditional and not focused on electronic automatisation (even digital, if at all)... If there would be actual cab signals, I would be more surprised actually.

 

Yet, Tony, cab signals would come in very handily in India - even if it is just to maintain system reliability. Every year northern India is plagued by fog, some of it of the "pea soup" kind, which wreaks havoc with train schedules as crews are forced to reduce speed (or sometimes even stop) so as to be able to pick up signals. With cab signals trains would just keep running at track speed regardless of visibility conditions.

 

Cheers NB